Fulcrum Productions
Starring: Troy Garity, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeremy Piven, Dominique Swain, Jeremy Sisto
Directed by: Susan Emerson

Synopsis: A cute straight-to-video, home-grown production which tells the story of an indoor cat named Marcello (voice of Troy Garity) who ventures outside when his mom leaves him on his own for a couple of days.  Unfortunately he is stolen by a roller-skating ‘kit’-napper and taken far from his house.  Escaping his captors, Marcello tries to find his way home and back to the love of his life, the cat-across-the-street Jujube (voiced by Michelle Rodriguez).  On the way he makes new friends in Pinky (voiced by Shannon Conlon) and Blackie (voiced by Jeremy Piven).

Cinema Cats: The cats are truly the star of this surprisingly sweet little movie.  It’s aimed at kids but it’s entertaining enough for cat-lovers of all ages.  It’s interesting to listen to the commentary on the DVD with the writer and director Susan Emerson and the producer Paul Williams as they explain how the movie was shot.  Six years in the making, the director spent hours and hours filming the cats and then worked the story around their actions, so the cats come across not as actors but as themselves.  Some might find this method of storytelling a bit forced but one can appreciate the work that went into piecing all the segments together to create a narrative where there technically was none.  There are some nice touching moments, especially involving the character of Pinky (played by a rescued male cat) who stubbornly refuses to leave her demolished home in the belief that her mom will come home.  If you love cats, this is worth a look!  And if you have kids who like cats, definitely give it a look!

Final Mewsings: Cats being cats are very entertaining.

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